


Journey's End V2 D/C

by Crystalliced



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Gaming, MMO, Magic, Monsters, RPG, Swords, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2015-02-19
Packaged: 2018-03-05 00:29:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3098243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystalliced/pseuds/Crystalliced
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Discontinued, reuploading.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Pretense

**Author's Note:**

> It's highly suggested that you shrink the width of the browser window to make it easier on your eyes to read, and to improve the overall spacing of the stories on A03.

 

    ...Loading...

Welcome to DreamCloud V1.  Constructing character avatar...

  
Done!  Constructing character personality...

Done!  

The spawning process will be complete in thirty seconds.  Upon arrival you may experience a few seconds of pain as our databases load your brain with the basic information needed to communicate effectively in this world.  It is up to you, however, to create the knowledge you need to survive and flourish as you continue to experience the reality that is forming even as you read this.  

Everything you need to know will be at your disposal.  The question is, are you good enough to use it properly?

Of course, you won’t remember any of this upon your spawn.  

Spawning character...

Character Name:  Tyler.  Gender:  Male.

  
Welcome to Journey’s End!

So it’s time, then.  Your chance to prove yourself, to fight, to survive on even as adversity builds.  From here on out, it’s all up to you.

 ****  
So come, then.  Write your destiny.


	2. Unwelcome Vegetation

   I dodge a series of fireballs expelled from the cannon-like mouth of the high-level monster I'm currently fighting, dashing to the side as the deadly orbs fly past me.  I'm finally free, away from the watchful eyes of the NPCs that regulated my childhood, constantly watching over us.  

     Nine years.  That's how long I have been trapped in the main town, learning how to use the two swords in my hand to their greatest extent since the age of six.  In that time, I have studied swordsmanship, magic, history, healing, craftsmanship, and so much more.  Everything to survive, as the date of release grew closer and closer.  And we’re finally here, today, free to live or die.  From here on out, it’s up to us, the players.  

     I duck another shot from the monster I’m fighting, wincing as the heat irritates my skin.  It fires every six seconds, but those six seconds are enough.  I often find myself diving to the side in a desperate attempt to survive, as considering my light, quick build, one of those high-explosives will be more than enough to kill me if I let it hit me.  

      I study it again in an attempt to find a weakness I can exploit.  Called the “Red Stalk”, a plant monster, it consists of dirty roots jammed straight into the ground, preventing movement.  Its entire body and neck is a simple crimson stalk, thin, and oh-so-vulnerable.  It has a bulbous head, with the only real feature being a large mouth from which it fires off deadly projectiles.  

     Obviously the neck for which it is given its name is by far the weakest part of its body, but I can’t even get to it!  A dominantly magic fighter could probably burn it, and a tankier build could probably just block everything.  I guess that’s the reason I find myself struggling so much with this particular mob.  At this level, I’m just not fast enough to cut the distance between myself and the mob without getting badly injured, or killed.  Common sense tells me to retreat; after all, if I can’t hit the thing, there’s only a short time before the mob finds a better way to hit me.  

    But it’s never been in my personality to run away from a good fight, so my eyes are tracking everything to hopefully find a way to defeat this monster.  Let’s see...

    I’m a combination speed and magic build...but both stats are too low to do much of anything.  I have a weak self-healing spell which will not help in this fight, as there’s no need for healing.  If I take a direct hit, I’ll die.  The two light swords sheathed on my back are useless for now, since I can’t get close easily.

    Well, I can get close.  But the closer I am, the less time I have to dodge, which means I either need to cut the distance between us and stun or kill the monster within six seconds, or I need to somehow block or dodge the fireballs...

    Nothing I have is strong enough to block the fireballs, as I discovered when I tried to hide behind a tree.  So I need to dodge.  

    I sprint towards the plant, leaping sideways to avoid a fireball, and run straight forward at it, unsheathing my swords.

One...two...three...four...NOW!

    Within five yards of the Red Stalk, I hurl the sword in my right hand directly at the mouth of the plant and dive sideways.  A fireball bursts out of its mouth and meets the sword, exploding into flames.  I ignore the sound of my standard light sword shattering into glass shards and lunge forward, ambidextrously sweeping my remaining sword in a long arc to cut cleanly through the stalk of the monster and killing it instantly.  My rewards for killing the monster pop up in a menu in front of me, which I look through with interest.

Hm...Perhaps this could come in handy later.  I stash the sole item reward into my inventory as my eyes catch the amount of experience I’ve received from the battle.

So I’m Level 3, now, huh?  Let’s see if those stupid Red Stalks can keep up with me now.

    They can’t.

**  
  
**

    On my way to the next town, I encounter a girl fighting off a group of four Red Stalks.  She’s using an interesting ability, though.  Rather than fighting with, say, a sword, she’s using a small wand to deftly counter the fireballs being sent at her while sending off her own barrages.  In short time, the entire group has been defeated and she holds her wand in her finishing pose, clearly low on mana - the magical energy used to control magic.  

    “That was impressive.”  I call out, and it was - the reflexes and mana pool that she used to quickly destroy that entire group of monsters is likely very high.

    “Thank you.”  She responds nonchalantly, turning around to face me.  “I hope you don’t intend on attacking me, though.”  

     “I don’t believe I shall.”  I reply confidently - though in reality I realize that this girl almost certainly has a significant level advantage above me.  Fighting her would be prone to suicide, and I fancy living.  

      “Well, that’s good.”  She murmurs, sliding her wand into the holder on her waste.  “I’d hate to have to fight someone else so early into my freedom.”  The light green summer dress she’s wearing contrasts her bright red, shoulder-length curly hair . Blue eyes bore into my own.  She rubs at a singe mark that mars her otherwise perfect fair skin.  

      “Let’s both drop the false confidence.”  I say blankly.  “I know you’re too high-leveled for me to stand a chance against, and I know you’re too drained of mana to put up a serious fight, so let’s stop with the act.”  

      “Okay.”  The girl replies seriously, then her face lightens.  “Just making sure you weren’t going to attack me or anything.”  She says, laughing.  “I’ve already had to deal with someone else.”  

      “I thought you hadn’t fought anyone else yet?”  I ask, walking closer to her.  

      “It wasn’t a fight.  He didn’t have the time to pull out his wand.”  She says, grinning.  

      “Fair enough.”  I say, offering my hand for her to shake.  “Hi.  I’m Tyler, combination AGI / MAG Dual-Wielder.  And you are...?”  

       “Anna.”  She replies simply.  “I don’t have a fancy title like you yet, but I’m sure you can guess my own build.”  

       “I’m just working on levels.  Red Stalks are annoying to kill.  But there is another reason I’m out here for.”  

       “Would that be the Book?  You’re really going out for that old history book?”  She questions skeptically.  “What for?” 

       “Knowledge is power.  There’s got to be something in there, something I can use.  And there’s rumors of a monster there that’s underpowered for its level, yet dropping tons of experience.  So yeah, that’s why.”  Too late, I realize I probably shouldn’t have freely given away all that information.

       “I knew you were as intelligent as you looked.”  She chirps, smiling.  “That’s why I’m out here, but before I get to it first, I want to level up a lot more.  There’s going to be fights over that thing, I’m sure of it.  And the thing is, anyone smart enough to go for it won’t be as easy as the guy who attacked me fresh out of the NPC town...  So I figure I may as well get myself strong, first, right?  I can always go back for it later but if I just get killed rushing there, what’s the point?”  

       “I would be doing that, but the only monsters I can farm are the stupid Red Stalks, and I’m not very well matched against them...”  I say, sighing as I brush my sword over a burn mark on my leg and invoke the healing spell needed to cure it.  She giggles.  

       “So I figure, hey, if I just get there before everyone else, there’s time I can use to scan over the place, confirm the existence of the monster, and either kill it or conceal its location.”  I open my menu and show it to her.  

       “You’re really using the “Tracking” passive, huh?  Makes sense.  I have to keep levelling up until I get a weak Pathfinding skill, otherwise I’ll just be wandering in the forest where the Book’s supposed to be at for days.”  She sighs, clearly irritated at the setback.  “Three more levels.”

        “That high?”  I ask, shocked.  I’ve lowered my guard temporarily around this girl, Anna - I can tell that she’s a bit different then a lot of the people I was raised with.  Unlike my peers, Anna appears a lot more friendly, if not brutally intelligent and skilled.  

        “I’m only level 4 right now.”  She says, a bit embarrassed.  

        “...You realize you’re probably the highest level in the game?”  I point out, a bit stunned.  I thought I had been keeping a pretty good pace but, when I realize just how fast Anna’s been tearing through the Red Stalks, I should be surprised she isn’t even higher than that.  

       “...Huh.  I guess so.”  She says, the words running unfamiliar from her mouth.  I just shake my head in amazement.

       “Wait...You’re a dual-wielder, right?  Where’s your other sword?”  

       “It broke.  ...And I’m missing my sheath.  I guess it disappeared when the sword broke?  Huh.  Well, I used it to kill my first Red Stalk.  Rushing to the next town to get an upgrade.  Probably going to use the forest shortcut.”

        “Doesn’t that route have higher-level monsters?”  She asks, perplexed.

        “Exactly.”

         “Ah.”

         “Well...I do need to run.”  I say, smiling slightly.  “Nice seeing you.”

         “Ditto.  Don’t die before the boss fight.  And you better be there!”  I just smirk before running off, decapitating a newly-spawned Red Stalk before it has the time to lock on to me. 

         It’s true that I have places to be, and that I’m on a schedule.  But there’s hardly harm in making friends, is there?


	3. An Icy Reception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go boom.

      I only stayed in the new village long enough to get a right-handed standard light sword, and a second set as backup, before sprinting back out to the icy wilderness.  Fatigue wears heavily on my mind as the sun slides beneath the horizon, but I brush it off in favor of pushing more energy into my legs, running through the evergreen forest that the Book is supposedly located.

      I do stop for every Red Stalk I see.  They’re not nearly so much of a threat with my improved speed - I’m not level two anymore.  It only takes two dodges before I’m in striking range and a single sweep destroys them, leaving me with more experience.  

     My Tracking skill gives me the ability needed to see in the dark and react appropriately - anyone else would be in severe danger due to darkness greatly hindering vision.  However, I can see nearly as well as I would be able to in bright daylight and am not hindered greatly, though specific details escape me.  The falling snow obscures my vision somewhat.  I follow the trail that the passive ability grants me - a bright red line paves the way towards the Book.

     The Book.  A great source of knowledge, apparently.  The NPCs in the main village brushed it off as a simple history book - much like Anna tried to - but I’m almost certain that there’s more to it than that.  The history we learned simply pertained to stupid stuff like the inventors of certain weapon classes, or the creator of unique magic skills.  If this Book was like the others then it should not have even warranted a mention, let alone a secret clue hunt that led me in circles during my forced stay at the main village.  

     It paid off, though - an NPC coded the trail into my system and all I need to do to see the trail is unlock the Tracking skill, using up one of the four passive ability slots I can use.  While there are other passive abilities available, right now that I could use, we were taught that more, stronger passive skills unlock themselves when you reach certain levels.  The abilities we pick are permanent, so foolishly filling my slots now may lead to regret in the future.

     I walk into a small clearing as a new mob - another word for NPC monster - appears in my vision, flaring blue as a result of my Tracker abilities.  An ice-based mob?  

     I’m not given time to worry as the humanoid enemy, Ice Guardian, in front of me inhales.  A breath attack?  That makes it a widespread attack, and that means I need to move!

     Not a moment too soon, as the attack covers a rather significant area.  But it’s slow, even if it covers a lot of ground, and I’m already behind the slower mob.

     My first slash is sent at its left leg, tearing through the rock that composes it.  My second sweep, though, is deflected by the collar of the monster’s armor.  A third stab pierces the elbow joint before I jump away as a ice-coated fist smashes the ground I was standing on.

     Not deterred, I dash in again and form a sweeping cross with my swords, scoring twin gashes in the humanoid’s armor before diving sideways as it attempts to punch me with a powerful forward motion.  

      The Ice Guardian is very powerful, but slow, and only about six feet tall.  It has a widespread ranged breath attack and uses strong, but predictable direct attacks at close range.  I suspect that the blows are strong enough to knock away even a full Defensive build at this level.  Unlike when I fight the Red Stalks, this monster is perfect for me.

     It does have some defense, though, as told by the armor covering its head and torso.  However, there are chinks in the armor that I am only now realizing, and I already intend on exploiting them.

     I back away to try and bait it into using its breath attack, which leaves a significant opening that I want to use.  However, it chooses to charge at me instead.  Faster, but too slow.

     I dash to the left as my sword flashes out and cuts into the exposed stone skin of the Ice Guardian’s side, before lunging forward and stabbing directly at a small gap between the giant’s side and arm.

      My sword sinks into the underarm of the giant, but I am forced to drop it as it roars and spins toward me with previous undisplayed speed, a fist flying in my general direction.  I try to parry it with my remaining blade but, as suspected, the blow carries too much power and lifts me off my feet.

      I manage to keep a hold of my sword but am dazed slightly, losing a significant amount of health.  Fifteen yards in front of me, the Ice Guardian prepares its breath attack.

      “Fire Bolt!”  A familiar voice cries out to my right, and the Ice Guardian redirects its attack to attempt to counter a small, but blisteringly bright magical bolt. The dispersed, widespread attack, however, doesn’t have a hope of countering the focused shot and the Ice Guardian takes a direct hit to the face.  

      I take the chance presented to me and kick off the evergreen tree I’m standing against, flying through the air towards the mob.  I activate a fire-based magical attack that drains all my mana in the air and come hurling down towards the dazed Ice Guardian.

     “Hate Spike!”  A single heavy flaming stab smashes directly through the Ice Guardian’s helmet and smashes a large hole through the head of the monster, shortly before the entire mob roars in defeat and shatters into crystal shards, dropping the sword still embedded in it.  I whirl around and snatch it out of the air before glaring at the mage hiding in the shadows.  

     “Illuminate.”  A girl’s wand glows with a bright light to reveal the face of Anna.  “Hey there.  Miss me?”

**  
  
**

      “Please tell me you’re not actually level seven.”  I plead, the number having had been her goal before heading this way.

      “No, I’m still level four, borderline five.  I was farming mobs when I saw you disappear into the forest and so I decided to follow you, because I realized that, between the two of us, there is very little that can overcome us.  So there went my protection need.  I was afraid I was going to lose you, because you were so fast, but-” the redhead points at the destruction that my most recent fight caused “-you weren’t very hard to follow.”  

      “Well, it was night.  People aren’t supposed to be dumb enough to follow me, and I was in a rush.”  I start following the red trail again, but at a more manageable speed that Anna can keep up with by running.   

      “You’ll lead them straight towards the Book if you leave such an obvious trail!”  She points out.  

      “Eventually a Tracker’s going to come along and lead a group here anyways.  It’s not exactly a secret, and I know at least twelve people completed the clue hunt.”

      “Out of five thousand people, yes!”

      “And they’ll all be making their way here.  Who wouldn’t?  We might have to fight at any time-”

     “Who’s there?”  A third, unrecognizable voice calls out.  Anna points her lit wand at the voice’s direction to reveal a tall, well-built man who is clearly a mixed Strength / Defense build, using a black, four-foot long, one-handed sword that tapers to a point, as well a a huge silver tower shield.  My Tracker ability reveals his name to be simply, “Adam.”  

     “Someone who’s getting the Book first, Tracker.”  The redhead behind me responds, holding her wand in an offensive stance.  “Leave us.”  

      “Pfft.  Who do you think you are?  You think you can stop me?  Little wannabee magic pixie girl and some scrawny child playing at being a swordsman?  You wish!  Come at me!”  Adam shouts, chuckling.

      “Scrawny child...?”  I mutter under my breath.  

      “Little pixie girl...?”  Anna says maliciously.

      “WE’LL DESTROY YOU!”  

      Anna shoots a series of Fire Bolts that burst in flame against his shield but do no apparent damage.  A second barrage of frozen, pointy snowflake shuriken embed themselves into his shield, but have no noticeable effect.

      Oh, I see.  Anna, you’re a smart girl, aren’t you?  But that ice attack isn’t good enough for what you had in mind...  Judging by her look of irritation, I can tell she’s already figured that out.

     All shields on the first floor are made out of steel.  This is something we learned in Chemistry.  By heating it up to high temperatures, then drastically lowering its temperature, we can forcefully cause it to harden.  It will, however, also become a good deal more brittle, and a strong and focused attack could shatter it.

     “The fire attack is good.”  I whisper to her.  “But you don’t have enough cold to do what you’re trying to do, try baiting one of the Ice Guardians here.  Keep distance and watch out for the range and spread of the breath attack - it’s about 20 yards range with a massive spread.  It’s a rather slow attack, though-”  Both of us leap out of the way as Adam’s blade comes crashing down between us.  

     “Go!”  I shout out to Anna, swinging my swords down in an attempt to disarm my opponent.  An upwards slash parries both my blades and I jump back as he pursues, giving Anna the time to retreat.  

      “You’re weak.”  Adam says, laughing as he deflects a second flurry of my attacks with his shield.  

      “And you’re slow.”  I reply, kicking off his stupid large, unfair shield in order to gain some distance.  He just laughs and charges me again.

      I can’t get around that stupid tower shield.  It’s too large and covers way too much of his body.  He’s slow, yes, but not slow to the point where I can dance circles around him, and his one-handed sword is strong enough to parry all of the attacks that break through his shield, and I can’t easily block it, as I discover.

     The incident almost disarms me but I roll out from under the weight of his strike.  Standing up I prepare a second fire attack.

     “Burn Slash!”  My right handed sword encases itself in fire and I dash sideways before lunging at Adam’s exposed side, swinging upwards as I go.  He blocks my attack with the tip of his sword sword, but the flames expand and singe him slightly.

     “Damnit!”  He curses, as I duck as his sword goes whistling over my head and strike again, stabbing quickly at his leg before leaping away.  My sword actually connects, but the wound is light enough and it won’t impede him terribly.  

     He charges again and swings horizontally in an attempt to bisect me.  I plant both of my swords in the path of the blow and our swords clash, though I manage to hold my ground for a few moments.

     Then I slip up.  Adam swings his shield awkwardly, but it is an unexpected attack and it is enough to force me to retreat.  This time, though, I’m not fast enough and get clipped by the edge of his shield, sending me to the ground and forcing me to drop one of my swords.

     “Shatter Blow!  You’re done!”  He yells, swinging his blade down at me in a wide, vertical slash.  I react by quickly channeling mana into my sword and stabbing up.  

      “Hate Spike!”  My sword glows red as I stab directly at the top of his falling sword - the thinnest point of his blade - and it stabs straight through the tip of his sword and snaps it cleanly off.  His sword now shortened, it flashes right in front of my eyes but does not cut.  I kick upwards, my blow landing between the man’s legs, and sprint away as he howls in pain.

       “You...how?”  I grin as my sword flashes out, leaving a shallow gash in his arm.

       “Shatter Blow is an ice-type move, moron!”  Tracker abilities, as mentioned, allow me to distinguish between elements.  That’s how I knew, even in total darkness and without seeing the monster or its name, that Ice Guardian was an ice-element monster.  Shatter Blow, while having no visual cue until it hits the ground, still has to have an element, and it happened to be ice.  Combined with my fire-based Heat Spike and the fact that I landed a hit on the top of sword - the same place I landed a powerful Burning Slash earlier - and I had more than enough power to shatter a good six inches right off his sword.

        Despite these accomplishments, I’m still not enough to defeat Adam alone, especially with one sword.  My other weapon is lying behind him and I am having trouble forcing him back.  I do notice one interesting thing.

        Anna’s small ice-based shuriken from earlier are still stuck in his tower shield, and as he tries to bash me again with his shield, I rip one out from the metal and jump away.  

       Now I have a projectile weapon, and he likely doesn’t know that.  I hurl the icy object and it sinks into his knee.  That should hinder his movement for a bit, while he pulls it out.  

       Except he doesn’t stop to rip out the ice shuriken.  He just continues running at me.

       I glance at the snow covering the ground before kicking some snow at Adam’s face.  He stops and raises his shield to block but that’s all the distraction I need, sprinting past him and scooping my second weapon off the ground.  

       I spin back around as he lumbers forward with the intent of attacking me again when a barrage of fireballs are fired from behind me, impacting directly in the center of his shield.  Adam is forced to pause to hold his ground and in that time Anna comes dashing into the clearing, jumping on my back before I can react.  She fires more Fire Bolts at Adam who again uses his shield to negate the attacks.  My Tracking ability allows me to see the superheated metal glowing from the sheer intensity of the fire.  It appears to have drained all of Anna’s energy, though.

       “Move!”  She whispers urgently, as the flash of blue appears signifying the arrival of an Ice Guardian.  No, two...four...  

      “What the hell did you do?”  I whisper, jumping away as a massive wave of visible frost explodes into the clearing, moving fairly fast towards our old location.  Adam bunkers down under his tower shield which will probably protect him.  Anna, holding on to my back, is taken along for the ride, and not a moment too soon; temperature drops to freezing in an instant and both of us take light ice damage.  It’s not enough to slow either of us down, though, but since our builds are so light we each lose a good fourth of our health.

     “I lit one of them on fire.  That pissed all of them off.”  The icy fog disappears, leaving us with Adam and four Ice Guardians to deal with.  Anna targets the face of one unsuspecting Ice Guardian with a single Fire Bolt that immediately destroys it before clambering of my back.

     “Now’s your chance to deal with Adam - I’m out of mana.”  She whispers, hurriedly, and I nod, dashing out into the clearing as Adam tries to block a hit from the Ice Guardian with his shield...and the great tower shield shatters into pieces, too brittle to take the damage.  

     Our plan successful, I run towards my target.  I am not able to reach Adam before a second attack from another Ice Guardian hits him directly in the chest, killing him.  His body explodes into shards as my burning sword instead pierces the chest of one of the monsters to destroy it instantly.  

     The two remaining monsters turn to face me but pause as a snowball whizzes over my shoulder and slaps one in the head.  

     “Really?”  I ask.  A second snowball bounces off my head.  “Shut up!”  Her indignant voice replies, and I roll my eyes even as I jump between the Ice Guardian pair.  

     “Hi.”  I say without preamble before diving sideways as they both attack me and hit each other, instead.  I run alongside the edge of the clearing as the Ice Guardians begin to fight it out, throwing frosty punches and headbutts at each other.

     “Well, I didn’t think that would ever happen.”   Anna says, watching as one Ice Guardian kicks the other into a tree.

     “I figured it might.  On my way here, I got a Red Stalk to shoot another and they targeted each other instead of me.”

     “So this is actually normal mob behavior?  Huh.”  The magician replies before launching two fireballs that strike both monsters in critical weak points to destroy them instantly.

     “Hey, you said you were out of mana!”  I accuse petulantly, irked that she stole the experience I could have received from the monster.  She just shrugs and grins.

     “Level five!”  

     “Jerk!”

     I begin following the red path again as we bicker (well, I complain and she laughs her head off).  


	4. A Heated Encounter

“...You know, we technically killed someone.  And I don’t even care.”  I wonder out loud, Anna walking at my side.  We’re well into the night, snow having begun to fall a few minutes ago.

    The blue-eyed girl just shrugs.  “We gave him a warning, and he took it and stepped all over it.  It wasn’t exactly a cold-blood kill.”

     “Well, it wasn’t in self-defense, either.”  I say, trying to justify my lack of emotion...by trying to convince myself that I actually care.  Which I don’t.  This is confusing.

     “It’ll probably be a lot harder on you when you actually have to strike the finishing blow.  Here, we just caused him to die.  It’s a big difference.”  Anna argues.

     “With the same end result.”  I mutter, and she just shakes her head.  “Why do I even try, Tyler?  Why do I even try?”  

     “Because I’m just that awes-”  

     “Isn’t that the place?”  Anna dashes into a clearing and I follow warily, scanning my surroundings before running in after her.  There’s a small stone hut that Anna runs into without a second thought, her eyes clearly on the large, thick paperback book on a table.  

     “You’re lucky this place wasn’t trapped.”  I say, rolling my eyes as she brushes the cover off.

      “Go away, I’m reading.”  

      “B-But...”  

      “Tyler.  I can read this in a few hours.”  The redhead looks up at me.  “I promise I’ll summarize everything important in it for you and if you’re not satisfied after that, then you can read it yourself.  But, please.  Let me do this.”  Betrayal and grudging acceptance tumble inside of me before logic wins out and I nod.  “I...trust you.”  

       Anna nods her head dismissively and I stare at her before stepping outside.  

       Another Electric Serpent meets its end at the tip of my swords as the blade buried in its head is brutally torn out, ripping right through its skull.  Quick and tricky, they don’t do a lot of damage, but the paralysis they apply is extremely annoying and they’re not too bad to level off of.  With the monster dispatched, I turn away and stare at the wooden house I’ve found, similar in size to the one containing the book.  My Tracker sense warns me that the wood is dry and quick to ignite.    

      At level five, I’ve broken the little curve where I wasn’t good enough at magic to use it properly and not fast enough to outspeed my enemies.  I now have one or two support spells, a single fire offensive spell, and quite the repertoire of elemental sword attacks.  And my speed...well...

      A Red Stalk appears about twenty yards ahead of me and immediately locks on to me, taking a shot.  I vault over it and kick off the ground, decapitating it before it has the chance to fire a second shot.  Too bad the level system prevents the lower-level mob from being really farmable.  Sheathing one of my swords, I place it back into my inventory as a presence moves into my tracking range.

       “Who’s there?”  I ask patiently.  I can detect a speed-type player behind me.  It’s not Anna, whose signature is sparkly, proof of a purely magic build.  This signature is much like mine, crackling and vibrating like an electric whip.

       “Where’s the Book?”  A feminine voice asks, as the owner steps into the clearing.  I give the newcomer an appraising look.  

       There’s a white, featureless mask covering her face.  Short brown hair peeks behind the mask.  A brown longcoat hides her weapon, but, given her apparent light build, my guess would be either a one-handed sword or a knife.

      “That’s something I can’t tell you.  My partners are still working on it, and I’m here to stall until they finish up.”  I’m careful not to give away any hints, finding no issues with deluding the intruder into believing that there’s a group of people rather than just a lone magician in the stone hunt.

      “Then I’ll deal with them after I deal with you.  I need the Book.”  She holds her hand out as a long, thin rapier materializes into her hands.

      “...That’s not a standard piece of equipment.”  I mutter, surprised.  There’s an intricate, jeweled hilt that she holds with ease, the silver tip of the weapon shining in the full moon.  

     “I broke my old weapon on the monster that dropped this.”  The masked girl says, dropping into an offensive stance.  “And now I’ll kill you with it, if you don’t move out of my way.”  

     “You want the Book?”  I take two steps to the left, standing defensively in front of the wooden hut I stumbled upon.  “Come get it.”  

 

  

     Not surprisingly, she makes the first attack, but it’s so quick and sudden that it almost ends the fight before it really starts.  My left hand reflexively lifts before I realize that I hid my second sword in order to present a surprise to people who attacked me like this brunette girl, and take a shallow cut across my arm.  

    She dances away as I slash two-handedly with my right-hand sword.  Alright, so she realizes that her light weapon can’t take powerful hits.  The blade of her weapon seems to be silver...

    This suspicion is more or less confirmed when she flips away and angles her blade to shine the sunlight into my eye.  Damnit!  It’s so bright!

    I quickly swipe my hand across the air and open my inventory screen, dragging my second sword into play just in time to block a stab from my blindside.  She jumps back to analyze this.

    “A dual-wielder?  Pretty interesting.”  My attacker comments thoughtfully.  Another flare and another attempt to pierce my kidney.   

    “Yeah, well, I didn’t think I’d ever have to fight someone quite as tricky as you.”  The next glint of light occurs as she’s running at me, and without Tracker helping telegraph her location, I would have already been dead.

    “I take that as a compliment.”  The girl says, as her rapier opens up a small laceration on my left wrist with a lightning-fast stab.  She dodges my kick aimed at her stomach and flips away before dashing sideways, parrying my quick attempt at disarming her.

     “You’re pretty fast.  But not too fast.  You’re a mixed build, aren’t you?”  My attacker opens up a shallow cut on my cheek.  “Ooh, just a few inches to the right.”  She snipes, taking aim again.

      “Burning Slash.”  I snap, a wave of fire forcing her back for a few seconds.

      “Why do you telegraph your attack?  That’s kind of pointless.”  She taunts.  

      “You’re forced to say it to activate it.”  

      “Are you?”  I get the distinct feeling that the girl is grinning under her mask.  She parries a swipe at her abdomen then rolls out of the way of my left-handed stab, leaving behind another wound on my left arm as she gets out of point-blank distance.  In response, I sheathe my left hand sword and put both hands on my remaining sword.

     She’s smart enough to not get baited by the intentional openings I leave in my defense, fast enough to take advantage of other openings, and tricky enough to make continuing the fight as I was dangerous.  No, this is the better option.  A defensive stand relying on powerful attacks - the one thing she has yet to match me in.

    “Something new?”  She strafes to the side but this time, I can sense her, focused solely on her alone.  Her flash doesn’t affect me this time, as the second I took the stance I closed my eyes and the only thing I notice is a slight brightness in my otherwise closed vision.

     The whistle of a blade.  I swing like a baseball bat and something goes flying.  My eyes open.  

      “How did you-”  She rolls on the ground as a Fire Bolt slams into where she was lying previously.  There is a small, hairline fracture in her mask, and she looks...winded.

      Adrenaline rushing through my veins, I swing my sword wildly in her direction, abandoning all sense of swordsmanship in favor of utilizing my sword as a blunt weapon.  The wild and random swings throw her off, I think, as she has trouble defending against the attacks and even takes a slash on her left arm.  While not dangerously deep, it stops her from using the arm until it gets healed.  

      I can hear the very human cry of pain behind her mask before she muffles it; but I heard it.  

     A jolt of uncertainty flows through me.  

     She runs out of space to back off as her spine bounces against one of the tall evergreens in the forest.  I swing my blade in a wide arc and she is forced to block, an option almost as bad as taking the direct hit.

     “You’re going to lose this fight.”  I state.  It’s not an opinion, and it’s not banter.  It’s cold, hard truth.  And I think the certainty in my voice shakes her, because her blade slips for a second and I headbutt her.

     Directly across her mask.

     The porcelain armor cracks deeply once before shattering, the crystal pieces disappearing into the light.

      A young, scared, beautiful face stares back into me, crystal blue eyes widening in shock and pain as the tip of my sword slices into her shoulder.  

     I falter, and the girl, nametag revealed at the loss of her mask, kicks me in the stomach.  As she sprints to the side, I catch her name.

     “Lindsey.”  

      She’s shivering now, losing her composure.  Our blades clash again, but she’s not as fast.  Not as powerful.  My blade swings in a wide arc and slashes a long line on her forehead, blood immediately flowing out of the wound.

       It makes me feel sick, and I back off as she cries out in pain and twists away, her left hand plastered to her forehead, already slickened with blood.

      She’s as young as I am.

      ...But...this is reality.  Where teenagers kill to survive, to fight to be alive when all fifty floors are finished.  I can’t...feel pity.

       The simple self-heal magic spell that everyone knows is hastily applied and the cut on her forehead fades away.  But the blood is still there, and I feel terrible watching it, mesmerized, as it slides down her face.

      I quickly learn it’s a bit of a mistake to underestimate Lindsey, even injured and bleeding, as a quick stab goes straight through my right shoulder as I raise my sword to block it, too slow.

      Holding back my cry of pain and forcing down the burning supernova in my joint, I drop my sword and press my hand to her stomach, channeling fire energy into my hand.

      ...I’m sorry...

      I bury the tears and the regret and the anguish I feel at her defeated, widened eyes, and her realization as my hand heats up before forcefully expelling the mana stored in it, skewering her as it tears through her soft flesh.

**“...Fire Blast.”  
**


	5. Stomach Pains

The wound on my shoulder closes up as the last of my mana goes into healing it.  I watch, staring, as the blazing wood hut creaks unsteadily, embers rising into the air.

      The Fire Blast materialized in her stomach and exploded immediately, sending her crashing into the building behind her.  The dry kindling that composed the hut burst into flames as a second explosion - her body likely hitting the rear wall of the structure - sent fire spewing everyone, lighting up the house like a matchbox.

      It collapses in on itself, fire pillaring into the sky in a final climatic roar before dying down.  

      I watched Adam die without mercy.  My actions led to his death at the hands of several Ice Guardians, mobs that Anna and I had lured to the clearing with the intent of killing him.  I didn’t feel guilty about that.

     This kill, though - the girl, that was different.  Adam looked to be at least forty.  No guilt.  I don’t feel guilt over his death.  I don’t feel anything when I think about the man, except for a small hint of satisfaction.

     Then why do I feel so terrible about Lindsey?

     ...Gods, what have I done?  She was my age.  Maybe younger.  She acted tough, but she was human, unbearably so.  I watched her lose composure.  I forced the loss of her confidence, meticulously tearing her apart.  My sword remembers the feel of her skin as it was slashed open without a second thought.

     She was just a young girl who wanted to survive, who did what she thought was right to survive, and I ended her life.

     A quiet gasp of pain.  So soft that I can barely hear it over the sound of the dying fire in front of me.  Tracker kicks in and a dimming life source reveals itself on the opposite side of the bonfire.  

      No...

      I run over to the other side of the clearing, where, propped against a tree, the young brunette girl clings to life, her hand pressed over the bloody tear going right through her.  Her legs must be paralyzed - the fireball likely split her spinal cord.  Did she drag herself to a sitting position?  I can’t see another explanation for it.

      Her limited magical use must be the only thing alive - even now, the faint glow of her hand dissipates.  She’s probably used the last of her energy to help regenerate some health - futile.  The burn icon burns brightly next to her slowly declining health bar, along with a lightning image that indicates paralyzation.  The blood is already slowly draining from her face, though there isn’t much blood on the ground.  Did the fire cauterize as it tore?  That thought sickens me.

      Her terrified eyes lock onto me.

      “N-No...”  Lindsey gasps, her right hand tightening around the silver blade left abandoned on the ground.  She struggles to lift it, but fails.  

     I kick it out of her reach.

     “Please...”  She only has a chunk of health left, indicative of her life force slowly draining away.  I open my inventory and extract the item the first Red Stalk I ever killed dropped, holding it tightly in the palm of my hand.

      A rare healing potion.  All monsters can drop it, but the drop rates are extremely low.  Potions are the only items that can be relied on to work anywhere.  There are healing crystals, and healing magic; but there are areas where both are disabled.  This is the only reliable healing item no matter where you go, which makes it invaluable.

     And it is the only option if I want to save the girl in front of me.

     Do I want to save the girl in front of me?

     I can see a tiny glimmer of hope in the brunette’s eyes for just a second, but it disappears almost instantly.  Probably her rational side squashing her hope.

     It’s now or never.  Her health is dwindling to zero any second now.

     I pop the cap off of the consumable and force the potion to her lips.  

    

   

    As the red liquid disappears down her throat, her health steadily rises, climbing back into healthier levels.  I sigh in relief as the color slowly returns to her face.

     “...Why did you do that?”  Lindsey asks, her eyes fluttering as she struggles to maintain consciousness.  Between the severity of the damage being healed and the shock and trauma of having a hole literally burned through her she’s struggling to stay awake.  She won’t be moving on her own for now, anyways.  Broken bones and twisted limbs are much easier to heal than gaping wounds and slashed flesh - replicating human cells and knitting torn skin is much harder and takes more time and energy.

     “I don’t know.”  I reply tersely, gently picking her up.  “I’m not sure.”

     “Is it-”  She gasps in pain as my fingers accidentally brush the still-healing wound, “-because I’m a girl?”  

     “No.  Stop asking questions.”  Lindsey struggles to raise her head to look at me.

     “Where are you taking me?”  This time, when my hand scrapes the hole in the small of her back, it is quite intentional, eliciting a muffled shriek from the girl.

     “Shut up.”  My instincts warn me I’m walking into an ambush.  Mobs?  They shouldn’t be a threat to me, even in a small swarm, but I have Lindsey slowing me down, and I’ll be limited by the urge to protect her.

     “...You should have just killed me.  The exp you would have gotten from a player kill might have leveled you up.”  The brunette drops her voice to a whisper, apparently aware of the danger surrounding us.

     “If you don’t shut up, I’m taking some Red Stalk Sap and shoving it down your throat.”  I put the girl down at the base of a nearby tree and unsheathe my swords.

     “Four of you at once, huh?  And I don’t suppose you’d do me the favor of coming at me one at a time?”  I call out to the seemingly empty clearing.

     “Not bad, Tracker boy.  Not half bad.”  A masked man seems to pull himself out of one of the trees a few yards ahead of me.  I can’t see any of his features and nothing distinguishes him besides a plain porcelain mask, which many people wear.  Lindsey herself used one before I smashed it in half.  “Of course, you’ll need to do better than that if you want to survive.”  

     I whirl around in time to block the thrown knife aimed at the back of my head, knocking it upwards into the air and away from me.  In my Tracker-colored vision, the knife glows a pale yellow.

      _Paralyzing poison._

    I twist to the side as a dagger flashes by my head.  I stab upward in an attempt to kill the man glued to the branch above me, but miss as my attention is diverted by a second knife that nearly cuts my cheek as I jump backwards to dodge.  

     “Cowards.”   I taunt in an attempt to lure them into fighting me in the open.  There’s a laugh from the trees to the right of me.  My Tracker vision marks the spot I suspect another Stealthed player to be.  

       “All’s fair in love and war, don’t you-ugh!”  I take a chance and throw one of my swords at the sound.  Judging from the grisly sound of metal piercing flesh and the twang of a person’s bones shattering as they hit the ground, I’ve hit someone, and fatally.  I catch a third knife aimed at me and throw it at the original person, who swiftly skates to the side.  My free hand slides open my inventory, sending a replacement sword and Lindsey’s rapier dropping to the ground.  I kick the latter backwards and reach down to grab the fallen weapon in time to parry a fourth throwing dagger.

       “Fire Blast.”  I call, shooting the more explosive version of Fire Bolt in an attempt to take out the only fighter visible to me.  He dodges, as expected, but the trees on the opposite end of the small clearing ignite, sending smoke into the air.  Hopefully that will flush out anyone hiding there, but there is the small issue of attracting mobs and players alike to this little party.

       Behind me, I hear movement and spin around quickly in time to hear the sound of someone getting stabbed.  My heart drops into my stomach but recovers when I realize Lindsey has recovered enough to join the fight, killing a second of the would-be assassins.  

      Icy mist rolls into the clearing as a monster stumbles into the clearing, another Ice Guardian.  It immediately attacks a seemingly normal tree, revealing the last of the assassins I sensed.

      Satisfied that he will be occupied for a while, I turn back forward.  The man I had assumed was the leader is already gone, probably for a while.  Between the fire and the evening of odds he probably figured it better to cut his losses and flee.  

     Lindsey cuts quite violently into the fight between the Ice Guardian and the third attacker, stabbing him in the throat and chest in a blur of metal before jumping back and slashing quickly twice at the Ice Guardian, utilizing a fire-based attack to rip through the stone armor before a lightning-charged stab tears through its chest, sending it collapsing in a pile of ice shards.

      “That was quick.”  I comment, referring to both her speed and the ambush.  She nods, still on edge.  

       Those reflexes are probably what saves her life as she jumps back, a heavy broadsword cleaving through a tree and nearly taking her head with it.  She rolls awkwardly and grimaces, her free hand flying to her stomach.  

       “Still not healed yet?  Back off a little, you can’t afford to slip up here.”  She stares at me for a bit before shaking her head, a small smile on her lips as the owner of the giant sword stumbles into the clearing, cursing angrily as a branch gets caught on him.  I raise an eyebrow at this newest development.

       His nametag reads Phoenix.  He appears to be at least six feet tall, a few inches taller than me at a glance, and sporting a dark blue longcoat that obscures everything below his collar.  He also looks slightly older than me, the hints of a moustache beginning to grow, color resembling his spiky black hair.

       He takes one look at Lindsey, then his eyes shift to my defensive stance.  I’m ready to charge in to support Lindsey, since she apparently has some kind of death wish and will likely need help getting herself killed, as I am convinced that she is too stupid to die at this point.

       “You know, I don’t think-”  He’s cut off as Lindsey rushes at him, a low upwards stab aimed to land just under his ribcage to pierce his heart, a very good first attack aimed to finish, though if she misses it will leave her open.

        Phoenix almost casually swings her giant broadsword and she runs right into it, a cracking sound ringing through the clearing as she’s sent flying into the air.  I roll my eyes as I take three steps forward to catch her fallen body, her rapier sliding to rest at my feet a few seconds later.

       “Okay, now I’m confused.  Are you supposed to be the good guys or the bad guys?”  He runs us over with a curious eye.  “Okay, a girl and a effeminate kid.”

       “...”

       “Well, you’re not attacking me, so that’s a good sign.”  He rambles blithely on as I twitch.  Lindsey stirs in my hands, apparently conscious enough to quietly apply the healing magic necessary to fix her shattered bones.   

       “So, like, me and my friends come and see this giant smoke thing in the sky, and we were like, “Hey, shouldn’t we check that out”?  Actually, well, they said it’d be stupid to check out the fire, but I was like, “Hey, maybe there’ll be people.”  And then they were like-”

       “...Are you stupid?”  I finally blurt out loud, as Lindsey slides out of my arms, fully healed.  “Don’t attack.  There’s people waiting outside of my Tracker range.”  I whisper to the girl in front of me, a nearly imperceptible nod my response.  So she’s willing to listen.  Okay.

      “Hey, man, that kind of hurts.  Deep down, y’know?”  

      “You ARE stupid.”  I snap.  “Also, the idiot with the shield and the short idiot with the shield, I can see you.”  

      “Damnit, how’d he know?”  A boyish voice complains.

      “It was your fault!  I told you that was an obvious spot!”  A different, slightly older voice retorts.

      “...You guys are wearing purple and bright freaking blue.  How am I supposed to miss either of you?”  I grit my teeth.

      “Are they serious?”  Lindsey whispers to me.  “Is this some sort of plot to get us to lower our guard?”

      “I don’t know.”  I murmur back, watching the revealed pair carefully as the two shield-users stumble through the forest.  One trips on his face with a loud clang of metal.

      “You tripped me!”

      “Did not!”  

      I just shake my head irritated before sheathing our swords.  “I’m not particularly in the mood to fight.  Are you going to let us pass?”  I ask, focusing my attention back on the man in front of us.  

      “Sure.  We were just grinding the nearby mobs anyways.”  Phoenix pauses in thought.  “Raffy, Tony, let’s backtrack a bit.  Don’t wanna bother these guys, they’re not as bad as the other guys we had to fight earlier!”

      “Damnit!  Come on, we just got here!”  The one with the blue shirt complains, before getting whacked in the head by the other shield-user.

      “Stop complaining!”  The one wearing the purple longcoat responds.  

      “Stop telling me to stop complaining!”  

      “You stop-!”  

**Whatever else they say is muffled as I walk past Phoenix and into the coverage of the trees, Lindsey following obediently after me.  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phoenix (c) jefferyMC  
> Raffy (c) Raffy70  
> Tony (c) PoisonCookiez
> 
> I thought I was super clever with the title there, but whatever.


	6. Circumstantial Friendships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Swearing warning kicks in now.

   “You know you’re not obligated to follow me, right?”  I ask Lindsey, who is still trailing me through the evergreens.  It feels like it has been days, but the moon is still in the sky, indicating the passing of maybe six hours, maximum.  Dawn should be in another hour or two.

       Six hours?  I’ve been in three major fights already, two with an ally and one attempting to kill one of said allies.  Well, I don’t know if I can call Lindsey a friend, yet...

       She hasn’t stabbed me in the back, and actively supported me during the ambush where it would have been painfully easy to catch me unawares...

       “Why are you still following me?”  I ask, perturbed by her continued presence.  I’ve admittedly tried twice to ditch her by sprinting across, around, and above the foliage - each time, she’s easily kept pace, even with her wound still closing shut.

       “You know where the Book is, and you’re a powerful fighter.  Who’s probably allied with another powerful fighter.  If I stay with you, I can get stronger.”  She reasons fairly, and I shrug indifferently.  Well, at least she hasn’t boldly stated intentions to stab me in the back the second she gets the chance, though I’ve offered her more than enough chances to kill me through sheer inattention.  

        “You’re not mad that I nearly killed you?”  I wonder out loud, looking sideways to catch her reaction as I sidestep a tree.  She frowns for a second but there’s no malicious intent or hatred in her eyes or face.  

        “You used a Healing Potion to keep me from dying.  That counts for something.”  Lindsey says, nimbly keeping pace and then some as we leap through the trees, our increased speed from agility builds allowing us this feat.  Anna would be utterly hopeless at this.

“She’d just burn everything down.”  I think dryly to myself.  

        “You won’t stab me in the back, because it’d be a waste of a valuable item.”  She continues, and I shake my head.

       “If you’re too annoying, you will wake up at the bottom of a ravine.”  I say sincerely, and Lindsey just smiles sadly.

       “That’s better odds than what I’d have on my own.  At least you’d let me wake up.”  She say, quietly, and I slow down for a second as the ramifications settle in.

       I don’t like people, and people don’t tend to like me.

       But I know one thing, and that’s the simple fact that being alone sucks.

       I want to work independently, yes.  I never want to hold a precious person’s life in my hands, because if I lost them, it would destroy me.  That’s why I can’t work with people.  I’m scared of growing an attachment to them, to lose someone.

       It’s also why I don’t have any problems being friends with Anna.  She’s strong, and despite her carefree, silly nature, I know from pure experience that she’s very powerful.  Assuming she’s still reading, I am now tied for top level with her, and I have a few hours more fighting experience than her.  At this point, I’m probably just as strong, if not stronger than her.  This should make me the most skilled person in the entire world.  And I’m making friends with other skilled players, people that can defend themselves so that I don’t have to protect them all the time.

       Although the way that Phoenix guy sent Lindsey flying while predicting her movement to catch her on the tip of his sword definitely took skill and strength, if it wasn’t just luck.  It’s a pity we met under such tense circumstances.

       From the sounds of it, Lindsey suffers my problem.  With a few crucial differences.

       Unlike me, Lindsey actually likes people.  Girls naturally seek companionship, male and female both...right?  It’s a thing.  They have to be with people, the social creatures they are.

       But I don’t think she has friends, that are alive, anyways.  The tint of melancholy in her voice makes me wonder...

    “Linds...”

    “Lindsey.”  She corrects.  “My name is Lindsey.”  

    “Too bad.  I’m calling you Linds.  It’s convenient.”  I reply shortly, and she rolls her eyes.

    “Whatever.”  Lindsey says, sounding irritated, or trying to, anyways.  But the small blush on her cheeks as I call her by her nickname would say otherwise.  

    “If you want to join me and my friend, I wouldn’t mind too much.”  She almost trips leaping off another tree and rights herself by snagging a passing branch to correct her course.

    “Thank you.”  The brunette says softly, suppressed emotion in her voice.

     It makes me feel like a decent person, for once.

**  
  
**

     “AHHHH!  SHUT IT SHUT IT SHUT IT!”  The door falls shut with a resounding boom as Lindsey files into the stone hut where Anna’s sprawled on the ground, reading the Book.  She’s almost done, apparently, though the intrusion of sunlight seems to have distracted her from her work.

     “Oh?  Does our little princess have an aversion to sunlight?  Let me check.”  I open the door again and allow the bright rays of the early sunrise, on the opposite side of the clearing, to stream into the enclosed area.

      An electrical bolt fired by the volatile magician strikes me in the back and drops me to the floor, where I lie, temporarily stunned.  The door swings closed again as my hold on it disappears.

      “Um...”  Lindsey wonders, locked in near-complete darkness while watching her only acquaintance get dropped by someone who was supposed to be his friend.  And the only source of light, a torch, is being held in the hand of his attacker.

      Okay, I’d be worried too.

      “Eh.  He’ll live.”  The redhead shrugs nonchalantly, turning a page.

       “ So much for loyalty,”  I think dryly to myself, as the brunette walks over to Anna as I groan, limbs still fuzzy as I recover from the aftereffects of the powerful spell.  

       “Hi.”  Lindsey says, staring at the girl who has buried herself back into the book.

       “Hi.”  Anna responds, fairly disinterestedly.

        And that’s all the conversation they have before the swordswoman plops to the ground and begins reading alongside the magician.

       “................”

       I walk back outside.

       “SHUT THE DOOR!”

      And dodge a Fire Blast.

**  
  
**

      By the time the pair of girls exit the stone hut together, it’s roughly midday.  I’ve already fought off four monster swarms and two players, none of which survived.  I’m surprised to see them talking comfortably as if they were friends of weeks, or even months - Lindsey doesn’t even have her sword pointed at Anna’s throat.

      This is probably a momentous psychological breakthrough.  I take a mental note of it.

      “Hey, Tyler.”  Anna asks, disturbingly happily.  Even more so than usual.

      Has Lindsey transferred her psychotic tendencies to Anna?  

      “Hi.”  I reply simply, not sure what to make of this change.

      “Lindsey and I created a summarized version of the Book.  This is everything you need to know.”  She sends her screen over to me with a wave and I glance over the details for a bit before storing them for future exploration and analysis.

      “So we’re done here?  Like, forever?  We can go to new places now?  Actually sleep, now that we’re not so much in a rush?”  Lindsey asks, hopefully.  

      “Sleep’s a waste of time.”  Anna says dismissively.

       “...You were sleeping while I wrote the list, thank you very much.”  The brunette retorts without a second glance.  I suddenly begin questioning the validity of the information I have just absorbed.  

      “Yeah, but I wrote the first six pages of it!  You know, the majority of the book!”  I scan the trees for potential threats as the two girls follow me, bantering happily. 

      “...Hey.”  Lindsey asks, pausing hesitantly.  “Shouldn’t we bring the Book with us?  We might need it for other purposes later.”  

      “Like what?”  Anna asks speculatively.

      “Like-’

      “Am I the only one who remembers the second reason people are flocking to this place?  Half the people here aren’t even interested in reading the stupid Book, anyways.”  The blank looks on their faces give me all the answer I need.

      “Do none of you remember the unique mob that’s supposed to be here?  We’re supposed to find it before someone else does so we can reap the benefits...Did the Book say anything about it?  The trail ends here.”  

     “It’s a field boss.”  Anna adds helpfully.

     “So we’d need to meet certain conditions for it to spawn...And it has to be here, huh?”  Hmm... I puzzle out the problem while Anna kicks around grass in the clearing.

     “I’ll go get the Book and bring it here; maybe there’s a quote in it that we missed.”  Lindsey wanders off towards the stone hut.

     “Didn’t they say something when they coded in the tracker?   It was a riddle.  What was it?”  I pace anxiously, trying to remember information from two years back and struggling.  “Why didn’t I write it down?  Ugh.  Even the stupidest of players got a standard Notebook and Pencil to write in...but I never used it.  Stupid, stupid...” 

     “I think there was a warning in the Book somewhere about it...”  Anna mutters thoughtfully, kicking a pebble in her path.  “Something about...”

     “The poem said something about...a monster...and the Book...They’re connected...How?”  

     “The trail ended, didn’t it?  It ended with the Book.  But the monster is supposed to be with the Book.  It shouldn’t have ended, it should have continued.  There’s nothing else here at the end of the trail.  That means...That means...”

     “The monster IS the Book...”  Anna and I stare at each other, wide-eyed, as the revelation kicks in.

     “Shit!”  I spit out, whirling rapidly towards the stone hut as Lindsey, apparently not strong enough to carry the book, kicks it out into the open grass, over the threshold of the stone hut.  

     Then the stone hut explodes and Anna and I are sent flying backwards from the sheer concussive force, Lindsey disappearing as the ground ruptures.

**  
  
**

     I cough up blood and stagger to my feet, Anna still lying on the ground, wooden debris scattered around her.  

     The explosion blew back the treeline, packing enough force to totally pulverize the nearest trees and uproot the rest, expanding the clearing to be fifty yards in diameter.  How we survived that kind of impact, I won’t ever understand.  More importantly, though...I stare in horror at the spot Lindsey was last standing at.

     “LINDSEY!”  I scream, shaking as Anna snaps back into consciousness and slowly pulls herself up, magic healing off the cuts on her arms and legs.  

     “Is she-”  Anna chokes off.  No, I can’t believe that Lindsey died.  I blew a freaking fireball through her stomach and she survived.  A point-blank explosion...?

     “Scatter!”  I snap, forcing all my emotions down as a giant stone sword slams into the area we were formerly occupying, the dust cloud clearing to give us a good view of what we’re fighting.

      “Omniscient Guardian” stands tall at easily thirty feet, visible from most of the clearing.  Wooden armor covers every inch of its humanoid body as it freely swings a giant stone broadsword, though the sheer size of the weapon slows down all movement to be fairly predictable.  Vines wrap around the monster for no apparent reason besides decoratio.  Its head is a thick trunk of an oak tree with two eyeholes, gleaming yellow irises staring back out at us.  If the giant explosion didn’t alert all the nearest mobs and players to come, the sight of a massive giant will.  I roll again as it swings its sword in a horizontal arc, feeling the power behind the near miss.  It’s like the Ice Guardians - slow, but deadly powerful if anything connects.

       This must be the field boss that was described in the clue hunt.  Was it designed to instantly kill the one that set the trap off?  If so, Lindsey is...

        “You bastard!”  A feminine voice screams from the opposite side of the clearing.  A second later, a familiar brunette jumps directly at the Omniscient Guardian, a series of triple fire stabs piercing into the giant’s leg before it swings its foot back and sends her flying from the sheer momentum, but not before she's done some damage.

She’s alive, for now.  Thank God.

        Like any field boss, it has a set amount of health.  All enemies and players do, though certain things are and will always be one-shot kills, like decapitation.  Regardless of the health or defense of any mob or player, they will not survive getting their head blown off, or being cut into dozens of pieces.           

         Lindsey’s trio of stabs have dealt a fair bit of damage to one of the great warrior’s four health bars, bringing it down about a sixteenth of the way.

         So a sixty-fourth of its total health?  Not to mention...

       Every single time you take out a health bar, the boss changes.  Whether that translates to attack patterns, or sheer defensive upgrades, forme changes, faster movements, more weapons, resistances, environmental hazards...This goes for all bosses, and this is what makes them dangerous.  And just considering the high defense of this particular boss...if it gets any stronger, we may not even be able to touch it.

       If a backstab, type-effective 3-hit Pierce sword skill barely scratched its health, what the hell can we do to damage it?  Monsters are already built in with a resistance to pure magic, so Anna can only do so much, leaving the brunt of the damage...to me and Lindsey.  And, well...we’re not built for this.

       Lindsey rolls between the boss’s legs as it completes a vertical swing that would have cleaved her in two, then runs over to me after a flaming slash that lights up one of the vines wrapped around its wooden armor.  

       To my surprise, it ignites and spreads along the plant material fairly quickly, forcing the Guardian to stop and beat it out with its stone sword.  This gives Lindsey the time to run to us.

       “Miss me?”  The brunette quips, flourishing her rapier.

       “Don’t do stupid stuff like that again.”  I mutter, secretly glad that she isn’t further hurt.  It looks like she actually escaped the explosion, or the worst of it, anyways.

       “How’d you survive?”  Anna says, finally standing up to take a stance on the other side of me.  Lindsey snorts derisively.

        “I’m offended.  You think something like that would kill me?”  Lindsey retorts, offended.  “I was waiting for something to happen and was already moving before it exploded on me.  I wasn’t really close by the explosion at all and the only damage I took was being sent through a stone wall.  That hurt, but didn’t kill me.”  Lindsey points at the top of the still-burning giant, watching as bits of the old stone hut slide off the crown of its head.  “It wasn’t aware of my presence, but just to be safe I took the precaution of healing my wounds before revealing myself.”

       “Every second you inch a little closer to waking up in that ravine.”  I interject, finally relaxing.  She actually made me worry.  Just for a second.  But the fact remains...

       Overwhelming odds, huh?

       I have friends here.  I can do this.

      “...Let’s run.”  Anna offers, and Lindsey nods.  

      “We’re not ready for this.  Right, Ty-” Whatever she says is lost on me as I dash directly at the giant.

      It’s the thought that counts, anyway...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate to do this, but I will not be updating until I receive ONE thought-out comment.


	7. Crossing Swords

A well-timed pulse of flames interrupts the first sequence of the boss’s attacks and I leap up, landing on the embossed shin guard about two yards above the ground.  

     In a different situation, perhaps I would have attempted to light the field boss on fire, sending it crashing to the ground with minimal work.

     But I’ve already seen how little effect magical abilities have on such a massive monster.  In fact...  I prepare a Freezing Stab and attempt to jam one of my swords into the joint of the behemoth only to see it deflected uselessly, glancing off the wooden skin like tissue paper.

     You can’t even do damage without the proper attacks.  Fire’s supposed to be one weakness, but it turns out that you can’t even really damage the boss WITHOUT it!  The girls were right.  This might be more than I, or anyone even on the floor right now, can handle.  

     The Omniscient Guardian tries to slap me off its knee with its free hand as I try to make my way higher.  Blocking is paramount to suicide so I instead leap straight upwards, clearing the pounding palm by millimeters.

     In the air, I perform an acrobatic flip and twist around to launch a series of slashes, each glowing with bright friction as I cut into the left thigh of the giant.  Its howl is enough to make me slip as I try to land on the top of its wooden shin guard, sending me tumbling down.  A launched Fire Blast from Anna, across the field, comes in time to prevent an oncoming kick that would have certainly killed me as I land on my feet.  I stumble slightly before jumping away as it sends the giant stone sword it wields crashing to the ground, the impact creating a fissure in the dirt.

     Things are happening too fast for me to control here.  I anticipated the unsteady mob being slow enough to be easy to cut up but...it has too much power.  Every attack isn’t just one, but multiple attacks, as the sheer force of the blow sends shockwaves that throw me off my feet or bat me out of the air, leaving me open..

      Lindsey darts past me and through the boss’s legs, leaving a rent in the heel of the Omniscient Guardian as it continually attempts to flatten me.  All it does, however, is give me the time to adapt to the concussive forces that radiate from the points of impact, letting me learn how to move away a certain distance to avoid being swatted out of the air by something I can’t see.  

      Upon the brunette’s fourth attack on the left foot of the giant monster, I can see a thick shard of wood slip off the giant, leaving behind smooth skin.  Lindsey quickly capitalizes on this and stabs the humanoid behemoth twice in the exposed weak point, an ice attack boring deep into flesh before her rapier is torn out as she hastily runs away as the giant attempts to stomp on her, pulverizing the ground she previously stood on.  

      “So-”  The swordswoman pants, before diving away as the massive blade once more swings down to try and crush us.  “-What now?”  We back away, dodging random swings as they come.  

      “We need to keep doing that.  Take out its mobility.”  I call out as I leap away from another attack, dashing to the side to see if I can get behind it, or get its attention focused on me so that Lindsey can launch more attacks.  Not surprisingly, it focuses on me, probably because I’ve done more damage and would be considered the bigger threat.  Rolling out of the way of a particularly vicious slash and wincing as the blast of air tries to lift me off my feet, I jump up again onto the wooden armor, jamming a flaming sword into the monster’s kneecap before using it as a spring hold as a giant, gnarled fist slams into the spot I was standing on, making the giant shriek in pain.

      Interesting...

      Using vines that appear to be tying the wooden armor down, I quickly scale the Omniscient Guardian’s body, making my way to its stomach and dodging the open-handed slaps that threaten to push me off my already precarious holds, if not killing me on impact.

     I finally pull myself up, quickly squirming under the wooden chestplate to come face to face with vulnerable, more human skin, tearing my way through directly into the giant’s abdomen and submerging myself into blood and gore as it pounds its armor in an attempt to crush me.  While not directly hit by the impact, I feel the shockwave as it travels through flesh to jar me slightly, but I shake off the feeling quickly and go to work, swinging my swords wildly.  

     At first my swords are slow, hampered by the onerous work of cutting through the insides of the mob I’m encased in, but the weight lessens significantly as fragile organs are located and ripped apart, disappearing under the heat of my blades.  The giant’s shrieks and wild movements are all the confirmation I need to know I’m doing severe damage.  I can hear and feel a constant pounding that I brush off as the heartbeat of the giant.

“Well, this isn’t something I ever thought I’d be doing.”   I think dryly to myself as my swords tear through what I assume is a massive kidney, blood spraying out of the severed arteries in my path, soaking me to the bone.  I try to keep my mouth shut and not breathe in more than I need to as crimson liquid runs through my hair and paints my clothes red.  

     A loud roar seems to indicate the changing of attack patterns before a shudder runs through the flesh I’m standing.  Off balance and disoriented, I’m in no condition to dodge the massive, bloody hand that rips through damaged flesh to grab me around the waist and rip me out of the gaping hole I’ve left in the giant’s skin.

    Bright sunlight forces me to squint as I’m dragged back out into the real world, lodging both of my swords deep in the Omniscient Guardian’s belly before losing hold and dropping them.  I find myself hanging upside down, and twenty-five feet in the air as I stare in dazed shock at the bloody wound left behind me.  

    All of my fire attacks burnt through most of my mana, leaving me virtually helpless as I am lifted upwards to meet eye-to-eye with the behemoth.

    I stop worrying about mana and start worrying about my impending death as it shrieks wildly, whipping me around.  I can feel the tension in my body.  Being ripped apart by the force being exerted on me is a serious concern and I’m glad when it comes to a stop as Anna launches a fireball into the open mouth of the giant.

    It drops me.

    And then Lindsey catches me.

    “You’re covered in blood.”  The brunette says, repulsed, before jumping away as the Omniscient Guardian swings its sword weakly, carving a path through the ground.  

     “Seriously?  No ‘Are you okay?’ or maybe ‘You’re so awesome!  How did you do that?’”  Needless to say, I’m not particularly impressed with my welcome back to terra firma.  

      “You’re too stupid to die.”  Lindsey retorts, gently putting me on the ground a safe way away from the boss as Anna runs up to us.

      “Some guys ran into the clearing and said they recognized you, Tyler, they should be able to hold the boss off for a few seconds.”  The redhead chatters nervously, pointing her wand at me to apply a light mana regeneration skill, before checking me over for injuries.

      “Whatever you did, you set the boss off into a rampage.  Look.”  She points at the nametag of the Omniscient Guardian, who has lost three bars of health and half of the fourth.  “But it changed.  It got faster and stronger for a bit, and a few guys who ran in and tried to help got slaughtered.”  There’s a few people I don’t recognize, surrounding the boss and launching coordinated attacks.  As I watch, one man tries to block the massive stone sword with a flimsy-looking metal shield and is disarmed, shattering into pieces a moment later as he is sliced in half.  Lindsey winces at the spectacle as Anna stands up, turning away when her eyes catch sight of the kill.  I notice Phoenix and his two odd friends fighting the boss head-on, but unlike before, all three are deadly serious and utilize incredible teamwork to deal damage without taking any.

     “You slowed it down significantly, though, when it punched through its own stomach to rip you out.”  Lindsey explains, rubbing the blood on her palms off onto the grass.  “Otherwise everyone would have died.  As it is, we should be able to finish it off now.”  I sit up and take out the two replacement swords, wincing as previously unknown injuries require my mana and attention to deal with.

     “You still up for a fight?”  The brunette asks quietly, her silver weapon held in one hand.  I nod, clambering to my feet as the Omniscient Guardian stomps on another too-slow player, leaving behind no remains.  

     “Anna, take shots as you get the chance.  Make them count.”  The magician doesn’t answer, a blistering fireball interrupting the giant from cutting through a third player.  Her eyes open with a new resolve.  “I will.”  

     “We’re almost done.  Let’s finish this.”  A cut on my arm seals itself as I open my inventory quickly and pull out my replacement pair of swords, grateful that I had the forethought to bring backup copies.  

      Lindsey sprints forward, flipping over a horizontal sword swing that crushes the skull of another player before rolling gracefully onto her feet, her hands empty.  

      The giant howls in pain as I notice a tiny little silver needle jammed firmly into the knuckle of the pinky of its sword hand.  The brunette grins for a second, though the smile is wiped off her face when the Omniscient Guardian lashes out with its foot in a powerful kick.  

      Lindsey almost gets away in time.  She’s not quite fast enough, though, and the boot of the monster’s foot slams into her left leg.

      Everyone winces at the loud crack as every single bone in the limb is shattered.  I manage to shake myself out of the shock numbing my mind to run forward and catch her before she hits the ground, my two swords held awkwardly in my right hand.  

      She’s already unconscious, her health slashed in half and dropping steadily.  I shift her onto my shoulder as her gaspy breaths indicate the pain she’s in, even passed out as she is.  

      “Tyler!”  Anna screams behind me.  

       I look up as the giant swings his sword in a long vertical arc like a golf club.

**  
  
**

      There’s no time to move.  Or run.  

 

 

       I cross my swords in an X and allow all my mana to slip through my fingers, coating the blades in purple energy.

**  
  
  
**

      I feel the swords give way and shatter to pieces.   A second later, a force sends me flying back. 

**  
  
**

      “Tyler!”


	8. Of Old Spells and Broken Colors

****  
** ******

I open my eyes a few seconds after I hit the ground, sent flying by the sheer force of the attack.  Both of my swords lie in pieces around me, the shards slowly disappearing in the growing day.  A warm glow surrounds my left arm - Anna’s magic, I realize, the pink energy flowing through my flesh to target destroyed bone and torn flesh.  

      The redhead herself is paying no attention to me, focused instead on carefully pouring a Healing Potion down Lindsey’s throat.  Immediately the deathly pale look of the girl disappears to be filled in by her slowly returning skin tone.  

      “Rest, Tyler.”  Anna murmurs, pushing me down with her hand as I struggle to sit back up.  “Just for a few seconds.”  The Omniscient Guardian is focused on fighting the other players, who have taken its distraction as an opportunity to do some damage.  

       The magician throws a potion into my lap before tapping her wand against Lindsey’s leg to force it to straighten out.  The cracking sounds as mangled bone pulls itself into place makes me wince.

       “What’s this thing?”  I study the clear blue liquid in the vial Anna gave to me, shaking it once to test for a reaction.

       “Mana regeneration.”  She replies distractedly, her pink mana flowing into Lindsey’s multiple wounds to heal them, accelerating the process of her recovery.  The poor girl is still unconscious, although that is, given the seriousness of her injuries, a good thing.  

        I pop the cap off of the glass vial and swallow it without hesitation.  Immediately, my mind clears as energy burns bright in my veins.  I stand carefully, watching the lacerations in my arm fade away to nothingness.

       “You can’t possibly be thinking of going back out there, Tyler.  You’re not even armed.”  

     That’s right.  My original swords are still stuck inside the giant’s body.  And my second pair of blades were shattered in my desperate attempt to survive.

     “I still have mana.”  I retort, jumping over Anna as she works on Lindsey’s leg, my right hand already wreathed in flames.

     Do I have a plan?  No.  All I know is that I need to pay the Omniscient Guardian in full for the crimes it has committed against my...friend.  

     I roll the unfamiliar word in my mouth as I set fire to the giant’s left hand, forcing it to stop and slam it against the ground to put the flames out.  Friend?  Friend.

     Dodging an open-handed slap with a midair twist similar to the one Lindsey performed, I slip through the giant’s fingers.  My hand makes contact with the silver metal of Lindsey’s rapier.  Something...old magic, perhaps, or maybe a combination of the wielder’s mana and my own - whatever it is, the sword glows as my fingers wraps around the hilt to rip the sword out, slicing the pinky off the giant’s sword hand.  

     I’ve no time to think about what just happened as I hit the ground and roll, quickly diving sideways to avoid the same foot that destroyed Lindsey’s leg.  The sword in my hand, already molding to my grip, shines a bright cyan as the blade seems to extend slightly, mid-swing, to cut a large gash in the ankle of the giant. 

     ...I didn’t channel mana into that...   

     The Omniscient Guardian stumbles, falling heavily onto one knee.  I quickly take the opportunity presented and jump onto it, kicking off in a quick burst to push myself upwards, snagging a foothold to nimbly scale the rough bark of the giant’s chestplate.  I dodge the hand that the giant attempts to grab me with, noting that it is extremely careful in doing so, with good reason - I’m sure the gaping hole in the stomach of the monster, draining health every second, is a good incentive to pay closer attention.  However, with its slowed movement, I have no problems escaping and manage to jump on its shoulders, than scramble onto its head.

     I notice, for the first time, a large, though somewhat short, oak wood crown that adorns the Omniscient Guardian’s head.  Inside the pickets lay a spinning, glowing book - one that I recognize.

     “The Book...”

     A hot flash of anger burns through me as the repressed emotions surge through my veins - watching Lindsey almost die in the explosion that destroyed the hut and summon the boss, the fear and pain in Anna’s scream as I was sent flying back, my swords into pieces, standing by helplessly as Lindsey’s leg was shattered by the powerful kick that did so much damage...

     And even before this fight...

     The tense anxiety when I met Anna for the first time, the betrayal I felt when I thought Anna was going to take the book from me and withold its information, the ice-cold calm and hot triumph that burned through me when I fought Lindsey, the inexplicable panic that sought its way through my mind when I thought I had literally burned the brunette alive...and even before then, my loneliness at the NPC village...Even then, I repressed emotions, avoided bonds, and didn’t make friends.  Didn’t talk to my peers.

      I marvel at the love I feel for my friends now.  Maybe emotion is a weakness.  But...

“It’ll be a cold day in hell before I give my friends away.”   I scream in the deepest corner of my mind as the rapier in my hand resonates with my core and guides my movement, a single counterattack completely destroying the hand that comes to swat me off, wooden and plant debris exploding into shards as the midday sun beats down on my back.

      “Never again.”  I say, flourishing Lindsey’s - no, MY - rapier in a quick X, the way the brunette enjoyed to show off, bright purple sparks burning along the tip of the blade as magic floods it, mana actually fully encasing the blade and my hands as I remember the girl’s words, about being left alone, and about not having anyone to care for her.

      “I’ll never let anything hurt my friends again.”  Grabbing the pommel of the sword in two hands, I pull back before lunging forward and stabbing the blade down to the hilt into the giant’s cranium, piercing The Book that started this insane quest, and, now, finishes it.

      A final death scream and the Omniscient Guardian breathes its last, shattering where it kneels in the broken earth, taking the sword in my hands with it as the air around me seems to fracture and crystallize into twinkling glass shards.

      I watch, wonderingly, even as I fall back into the air, high above the ground, staring into the sky and the crystal fading away into darkness.  A menu opens, congratulating me on my victory against a level thirty field boss before showing me the rewards I’ve received.  I’m not paying attention to that, though, more concerned with the fractured rainbow around me.

****       This time, I’m not too surprised that Lindsey catches me.  I just fall asleep in her arms, instead.    
**   
**

**Author's Note:**

> Tyler (c) Crystalliced  
> Anna (c) sydneymunchkin  
> Adam (c) Crystalliced  
> Lindsey (c) Crystalliced  
> Phoenix (c) Ic3_Ph0enix  
> Tony (c) PoisonCookiez  
> Raffy (c) Raffy70


End file.
